February 10, 2023
Almost three years ago, I sent a mass email to various organizations and people seeking help and guidance in dealing with the devastation of one of my family’s historic cemeteries due to it being completely bulldozed. Our access was blocked to another family cemetery, and property that had long been in our family was being taken and sold without our knowledge.
One of the first responses I received was from Bob Weir. He said he had heard of the devastation suffered by my family and community. I had never met him and had no idea who he was, but without hesitation he offered to help me, a complete stranger, in any way possible. He said he felt we were up against power and greed. He promised his complete support and help.
Bob was instrumental in building a strong factual foundation of defense against those who threatened my family, our history, our cemeteries and our community. His knowledge of county codes, zoning rules, permits and various court and land records, which revealed how the county handled the sale of land in Thoroughfare, has been invaluable in our fight.
But what is even more impressive and heartwarming for me personally is that I found Bob to be a man of his word. I had no doubt he truly cared and empathized with our pain and sense of loss. As he promised, he never wavered in his support. He answered my every call or email. He sought answers and provided answers to my many questions. He was never misleading, and I never felt his actions were self-serving. He was serving my family and community as if it were his own.
I’ve heard people say that Bob can come across too direct in vocalizing his point. I find that refreshing. We are surrounded by leaders who present themselves as one thing to our faces but who are something totally different behind closed doors — leaders who promise to have our best interest at heart but prove time and time again that it is their self-interest that outweighs our needs and voices as a community.
With Bob, what you see is what you get. What he says is what he stands by. What some may call abruptness, I call integrity and a sense of morality and decency.
What some call abruptness, I call Bob’s passion for what he believes in and his determination to stand by what is right for you, me and our community. It is a firm stance against the hypocrisy, greed and destruction of our way of life on many levels and in many ways. It has nothing to do with personal gain but everything to do with giving voice to a community that is having its voice shut out and taken away.
This is what he helped give Thoroughfare: a voice for those whose voices have historically been shut out, both the dead and the living.
There is a saying that goes like this, “When people show you who they are, believe them.”
Bob has shown us who he is: a man of integrity with a sense of morality and values personally and politically that serve us all. He has a genuine care and willingness to fight for you, me, our community and our way of life. He does it with passion, conviction and honesty. He uses his knowledge without compromise. That is a change and difference that will truly bring us together – a change we need and deserve as a community.
Frank Washington
Coalition To Save Historic Thoroughfare
Broad Run